Dan Kittner: Mesa, Arizona Financial Advisor Suspended

A disciplinary action taken by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority against former Mesa, Arizona broker and investment advisor Dan Kittner (CRD# 4377296) suspended him over allegations he exercised unauthorized discretion in customer accounts. A former representative of Ameritas Investment Corporation, Kittner was suspended for 60 days and fined $7,500.

According to a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent (No. 2017056550601) dated October 2018, Dan Kittner was registered with Ameritas Investment Corporation when, between June 2015 and September 2017, he exercised discretion in two customers’ accounts without first receiving written authorization from those customers, or his firm’s acceptance of the accounts for discretionary trading. FINRA’s findings state specifically that in the period in question, he executed about 700 transactions in two customers’ six accounts, “without contacting the customers prior to each trade to confirm the details of the trade.” FINRA states that he lacked the customer’s authorization to use discretion, and he neither sought nor received his firm’s permission to exercise discretion in the accounts; FINRA states additionally that the firm’s supervisory procedures forbade the use of discretion by registered representatives. FINRA goes on to state that Kittner “inaccurately failed to mark the orders as discretionary” when he executed the trades in question, thus causing Ameritas “to make and preserve inaccurate order tickets.” FINRA found that these actions constituted violations of NASD Rule 2510 and FINRA Rules 4511 and 2010. As a result of the foregoing alleged conduct, Dan Kittner was suspended from associating with any FINRA member in any capacity for 60 days. He was also ordered to pay a fine of $7,500.

Dan Kittner’s disclosure records also list one settled customer complaint against him. Filed in 2017, the complaint alleged that as a representative of Ameritas Investment Corporation, he charged excessive commissions and executed unauthorized trades. The complaint reached a settlement of $41,000.

Dan Kittner is currently not registered as a broker or investment advisor. His employment history includes Ameritas Investment Corporation and Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network in Mesa, Arizona; and Edward Jones in Prescott Valley, Arizona. He currently holds zero state licenses and has passed five securities industry qualification examinations.